Intel opens Vietnam IC-assembly plant

SAN JOSE, Calif. - After some delays, Intel Corp. has officially opened its new IC-packaging and test plant in Vietnam, according to reports.

The Ho Chi Minh City facility, announced in 2006, was supposed to begin production by the end of 2009. But Intel ran into some problems with the contractors, causing a delay with the plant.

For some time, Intel said the $1 billion Vietnam factory would begin production in mid-2010.

''In July 2010, Intel Vietnam began using the latest Intel chipset technologies to produce chipsets that will help support the growth of the mobile computing. In fact, Intel Vietnam started the use of the latest FCBGA binding technology for mobile processors,'' according to Intel's Web site.

''This facility is the first investment of its kind in the semiconductor industry in Vietnam. The new 500,000 square foot facility will eventually employ as many as 4,000 people and will be the model for larger, more efficient assembly test facilities that will make Intel even more competitive,'' according to the firm.

This week, Intel has begun operations within its first fab in China, according to Dow Jones. Intel is also expanding in the U.S. As reported, Intel recently confirmed speculation that it will build a new R&D wafer fab in Hillsboro, Ore., and upgrade other existing U.S. facilities for 22-nm production at a total investment of between $6 billion and $8 billion.

The investment will create 800 to 1,000 permanent high-tech jobs and 6,000 to 8,000 construction jobs, Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) said. The new development fab in Oregon, to be known as D1X, is slated for R&D startup in 2013.

I would be shocked if Intel dumped pollution into a river. When I was there Intel was very diligent about exceeding pollution standards. The reasoning was that long term it made good business sense, keeping from having a Love Canal sort of situation.

Average Monthly Wages for Manufacturing Workers in 2009: Indonesia=$129, Vietnam=$136, China=$412. For an India-to-Vietnam comparison, Bloomberg provided numbers for 2008 putting India at about 4/5ths the labor costs of Vietnam. Intel has facilities in India too; its largest non-manufacturing site is located in Bangalore.
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http://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/aci_090710.php "Sources: J.P. Morgan; CEIC; International Labour Organization; Wall Street Journal"

If they indeed dump garbage into river, the news doesn't sound to good. River will eventually bring the garbage into the ocean. The ocean will then carry it around to the rest of the world.
Off-shoring is inevitable for the company to stay competitive and for the Americans to move on to something more advance which have much better potential to generate revenue. It's a good news to the company and to American.

Intel opens assembly and test in Vietnam because labor in Vietnam is very cheap. Also Intel can dump garbage for almost free with no charge. Many big company just dump garbage in river with little coruption money.

Intel is on a roll. First they announced expansion plans in the Portland, Oregon area (potentially creating many U.S. jobs) and now Vietnam. Good news for Intel and the local economies in these regions.

I think Intet's investment plans have nothing to do with creating jobs in the US. They have just made a few business decisions and I dont see any influence or bias in any of them. The assembly unit in Vietnam is a smart move. The 450-mm "readiness" seems unlikely.